David Smith
David Smith was an award-winning correspondent for 30 years for ITN/C4News, then worked as an adviser to Kofi Annan at the UN. Now based in Latin America, he writes for The Economist. He is the author of three books, and sometime Visiting Professor in the United States.
Renato and Me
David Smith recalls his association with Renato Curcio, the former leader of Italy’s ultra-left terrorist group the Red Brigades
Mugabe and Me
From bonding over jokes about Jesuit teachers to becoming a persona non grata, David Smith recalls his relationship with Robert Mugabe
Carlos and Me
Following Carlos Menem’s recent passing, David Smith remembers his relationship with the bold and cunning politician
The price of victory
Benjamin Netanyahu has won battles, but there is no foreseeable end to the war
In defence of Michael Foran
Do not confuse the intensity of trolls for righteousness
Excluding Imran Khan is cowardly and wrong
Oxford University has made a serious mistake
Shades of Gray
Never underestimate the mysterious yet powerful Sue Gray
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
The magic of the original stubbornly refused to rise from the dead and save the movie from mediocrity
Kemi goes postal
The former business secretary and current Tory leader is grilled over a late delivery
Shiva Naipaul
The younger brother of a controversial Nobel Prize winner who has been unjustly overlooked
There is no “Woke Right”
A new attempt to delineate the boundaries of acceptable opinion has failed
Trump’s first gambit fails
The Republican candidate was not as effective on the debate stage as he anticipated
Is Keir Starmer coming for Twitter?
A campaign group with close ties to Labour Party reportedly hopes to “kill Musk’s Twitter”